Roommates
by Minako Nine
Summary: Yamada Takahiro thinks he's prepared for any kind of roommate. Until he meets hurricane Watanuki. [Future Donuts]


Yamada Takahiro is from Ishikawa :D Why do I know? Because Yamada is a perfectly boring common Ishikawa family name. XD As for his appearance, he wears emo glasses and they suit him okay. That's about all. Megane-kyara are living together! And my spellchecker loves Wata so much. Satanic you say?? Also I love curlys because they emphasise the stress on the word right!

I've never quite figured out where Holic is set. Sometimes I think it's somewhere in Kansai (aho?) but when they mention Ginza one time I wondered if it was in one of the Tokyo special wards. I guess we shall never know. T.T be cool if it was in Tomoeda XD FUJITAKA-SAMA, WHEREFORARTHOU?

And now onto the terrible tale of what it's like to have hurricane Wata as a roommate. -.-

**Roommates**

**I - Introductions**

Yamada Takahiro was a nice, easy-going young man. At his old school he'd had a tight-knit group of friends, all of whom had gone on to different universities, but swore to keep in touch. He'd been quite popular among his classmates, having been a smart and somewhat attractive boy who was friendlier and kinder than most others. He considered himself an open and inviting sort-of guy, always welcoming new experiences with flourish. He was looking forward to meeting all sorts of new people at university. But at the moment, he was most looking forward to meeting his new roommate. Somewhat apprehensively, of course. After all, they were going to be living with one another for the better part of a year. He thought he was ready for anyone. _Thought_ being the objective term here.

He was not, of course, ready for what was to befall him.

Having moved in at the first possible opportunity, wanting to get a jump on his first time living away from home, and hoping to familiarise himself with the surroundings before term started, he had naturally expected his roommate to move in a few days later than himself. He'd liked the idea because it gave him a chance to settle down before meeting the rooms other occupant. Luck was not on his side.

A day later, he had gone out to look for a good café nearby. It was always nice to know where you could get nice tea and cakes. He'd discovered a charming tea shop that sold lovely cakes with ease, and was looking forward mentally to many an afternoon spent studying there. When he returned, the door to his room was left wide open and he could hear a woman remarking quite loudly, "It's rather _small_, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's also rather _cheap_," an irritated voice chimed in, "and that's just fine by me. Now _look_, if you're not going to be _useful_ could you at least just sit out of the way?? You keep- arrg, you're just as- NOW YOU'RE JUST DOING IT ON PURPOSE!"

Takahiro thought of the scolding he'd get from his parents if _he_ ever tried addressing them like that, as the woman laughed. For some strange reason he got an odd feeling when he walked into the room. Shrugging it off, he adopted his customary smile. "Ah, you must be my roommate!" he beamed. "I'm Yamada Takahiro! It's nice to meet you." _Even if it IS a very sudden surprise_, he thought.

The woman turned her head to him with a small, knowing smirk, and the aggravated young man put the box he was holding down and held out his hand with a crooked, nervous smile. "Nice to meet you too," he said as they shook hands, "and sorry about the mess."

He glanced round to look for the alleged 'mess', and was pretty sure the room was tidier then when he'd left. Somehow. Even though he couldn't see that anything of his had been moved.

The woman reached to shake hands with him too. "Ichihara Yuuko," she intoned, languid smile still in place, and he felt colour rise in his cheeks when he realised he'd been staring somewhat.

"It's a pleasure, Ichihara-san," he replied, resisting the urge to nervously scratch at the back of his neck as she seemed to loom over him, as if measuring him up. The young man had gone back to removing from boxes what mostly looked like cooking equipment.

"Call me Yuuko," she said simply, and went back to harass the young man more. "Make dinner soon," she said, even as he tried to get past her, "and make sure there's lots spare! I'll see you tomorrow, Watanuki" she called, as she dashed off. Watanuki had a dark look on his face. He seemed to be muttering something about dinner under his breath even as he neatly unpacked his few boxes of belongings.

"So," Takahiro began, having shaken off the slight daze he'd fallen into, "Ichihara Watanuki, right? Where'd you come from?"

Watanuki gave him a very odd look. Takahiro found himself wondering if he was on an accelerated program or something. He looked awfully young for some reason… "Ah, this is my home town," he said with a smile.

"I'm from Ishikawa! It's great that you're from around here, hopefully you can show me around, if it's not too much trouble! But if you live round here, wouldn't it have been cheaper to stay with your mother?"

"You think- ohnonono, Yuuko-san isn't my mother. Not at all. Not related even slightly. For which I am _constantly_ thankful. But you-" he broke off laughing. Takahiro didn't understand what was so funny, and wondered if he'd said something wrong. He _had_ wondered how old she was, but he understood that people were having children earlier all the time, and hadn't wanted to assume the wrong thing. Watanuki grinned at him gleefully. "I never had a way to call her _old_ without it being my fault before! Ah, this may be the best day ever! Don't be surprised if she's rude to you in the future, I just can't pass up on a rare opportunity like this!" His grin had turned into a somewhat malicious smirk and Takahiro was rather sure he _had_ said the wrong thing. "Yamada-san, it really is very nice to meet you. And I'm called Watanuki Kimihiro. Definitely no relation of Yuuko-san's." He smiled genially, and proceeded to start moving most of his things into the dorm kitchen.

Takahiro happily left it that, feeling more than a little confused as to what exactly Yuuko _was_ to Watanuki if she wasn't a relative and if he wanted to insult her. Some sort of disparaged friend? A girlfriend? Ex? Being a somewhat curious – or, perhaps we could say, damn-right nosey – individual, he vowed to figure it out before the weeks end. As he sat wondering, and wondering if he should give any of his friends a call, and wondering what he should make for dinner, he heard the sounds of pots and pans and sizzling from the kitchen that made him think of home.

When he entered the kitchen later to brew some tea, he saw that Watanuki looked perfectly at home in an apron by the stove. "Ah, Yamada-san, would you like any?" he asked, making a vague gesture at the bubbling pots. "I think I've made far too much…" he added with a thoughtful look, as if he was wondering just where so much food had come from. Takahiro certainly didn't want to slight his tentative new friend with a 'no', and his nose seemed to say the same thing.

"Thanks a lot! I'm not much of a cook myself, and it'd certainly be nice to try your cooking, since everything smells so good."

Watanuki nodded absently in agreement, thoughtful look having become a thoughtful frown, but it was broken by the sudden ringing of a mobile phone. Takahiro tried to tune out the conversation as he put the kettle on and bustled about getting cups and a teapot. It would be rude to intentionally listen in on a conversation, after all.

"Hello, Himawari-chan! It's so good to hear from you so soon! How are you, are you settling in alright? Mm, it's a nice room. Yuuko-san thinks it's small, but she… yeah, he seems really nice! You should definitely come and visit soon, Himawari-chan! You'd be more than welcome! Huh? Oh, I think he's staying at the temple still, so I shouldn't see him until the start of term. Not that I'd want to. Isn't he on holiday still, anyway? That's what- …oh yes, you must be right! Make sure to let me know when you're free so I can call you, okay? Bye"

The timing couldn't be better. Takahiro had finished making tea, and offered the second cup to Watanuki just as the sparkly smile had dissolved into a look of despair. He set the proffered cup down on the side as he removed pots from the heat and started dishing up food. Boy, did he seem to have immense mood swings! Watanuki's slumped shoulders suddenly shot up, and he was smiling again. "He doesn't know where I live yet!" he cheered. "And Yuuko-san has been hanging around all day so there's no _way_ she could have told him! Well, there _is_, she could easily find one, but… ah, I'm safe for a day"

As infectious as Watanuki's cheer was, Takahiro couldn't help but notice one old anomaly in the whole plating-up situation.

There was a third plate.

"Watanuki-kun," he began, not feeling the need to be overly polite, "is there a reason there's a third-"

He was interrupted by the sound of the kitchen door opening quietly. As quietly as it was, it still appeared to stop the world short, making the equally quiet "Yo," easily heard.

And then Watanuki started screaming.


End file.
